T.J. Vazquez of Weymouth scored 23 points Monday night in leading SSC to a 58-47 road win. South Shore Votech dropped to 7-7 and must win at least two of its remaining four games to qualify for the postseason.

By Tom Hinkley

The Patriot Ledger, Quincy, MA

By Tom Hinkley

Posted Feb. 5, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Feb 5, 2013 at 5:07 AM

By Tom Hinkley

Posted Feb. 5, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Feb 5, 2013 at 5:07 AM

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It was the type of game that every coach fears when South Shore Votech hosted South Shore Christian in high school boys basketball on Monday night – the dreaded “trap game.”

South Shore Votech coach Mike Doyle was fearful of it, but couldn’t prevent it from happening as the Vikings were upset, 58-47, at home, suffering a blow to their tournament hopes.

“Coming off two pretty big wins (Holbrook and Tri-County), it’s what you always fear as a coach is that letdown, and it surely came tonight,” said Doyle. “We just couldn’t hit shots and we didn’t do a very good job of contesting shots.”

The loss drops the Vikings to 7-7 with four games left on the schedule. Votech will need to win at least two of the four games to earn a tournament berth.

“It’s a big blow,” said Doyle. “We have four games left and two of them are against teams we’ve lost to and another against a team we squeaked by with a three-point win.”

T.J. Vazquez of Weymouth scored 23 points to lead South Shore Christian to only its second win of the season, but the Warriors didn’t appear to be a team with only one win entering Monday night. The Warriors sideline was on its feet for most of the game and celebrated as if they had just clinched a tournament berth when the final horn sounded.

“For us, our season is one game,” said South Shore Christian coach Kevin Roach. “I have such a great group of kids and they understand that what we try to do is to just be competitive every game and to play hard and play together.”

The Warriors frustrated the Vikings with a strong defensive effort from start to finish and threw wave after wave of players off the bench.

“They all came in and played really well defensively,” said Roach. “The kids all work hard and they work together, and it showed on the defensive end tonight.”

Vazquez, who recently eclipsed the 1,000-point mark for his career, scored most of his points off steals at the defensive end as the junior standout had his versatility on full display.

“All the credit goes to Vazquez,” said Doyle. “He’s a player. Everything ran through him. When he wasn’t scoring he was penetrating and kicking out, and when that happens you’re in a lot of trouble.”

South Shore Christian maintained a lead of about eight or 10 points throughout the second half, but South Shore Votech made a run behind Joe Draicchio (Rockland), who scored all his 11 points in the second half. The hosts pulled within 47-40 with 2:42 left to play. But Nate Vazquez, the younger brother of T.J., connected on a 3-pointer to seal the win.

Page 2 of 2 - “I would have liked it if a little more time went off the shot clock first,” joked Roach of the 3-pointer from Vazquez that was taken after an offensive rebound and with a fresh 24-second clock. “But it was a good look and he knows that he has the freedom to take shots like those if they’re good looks. What a big shot.”

At 2-10, a playoff berth is out of the question for South Shore Christian, but the future looks bright for the young squad.

“T.J. (Vazquez) is a junior and his brother Nate is a sophomore,” said Roach. “We have a starter in a Luke Dagley who’s an eighth-grader, and we only start one senior. We’re playing like a playoff team right now, even though we aren’t going there, and that’s only going to help these kids going forward.”

Korey Fitzgerald had 11 points for Votech, which has games remaining against Bristol-Aggie, West Bridgewater, Old Colony and Upper Cape. Freshman guard Mike Reale added 9 points.